Didn't Think I'd See You Again
by Alex W. Pendragon
Summary: Sam & Gabriel Story. Part 3 of my Worried Sick & Bonded Happy Series (can be read as a standalone). When Castiel shows up on Gabriel's door step half dead and the archangel unable to help, Gabriel knows that his time in hiding is over. The truth about his survival is out, his connection to Sam started, and Sam learns things he might not have wanted to about his brother.
1. Chapter 1

_This fic was originally meant to be a one shot, but I was never happy with the ending so it turned into multi-chapters. The POV will change slightly and should be obvious, but this fic will stay focused on Gabriel/Sam with Castiel/Dean being in the background. This will be a slow build despite being a short fic_

 _First part is from Gabriel's POV. Second Chapter is Sam's. Third chapter is a mix of the two_

 _I actually had this fic done a while back and it has been posted on Ao3 for a time. I don't remember why I didn't post it on here at the same time, probably an oversight on my part at the time, but I apologize._

 _As Always, this has not been beta read. I know for a fact there are errors, which I will get around to fixing eventually, but today is not that day sadly. I'm throwing this on here while I'm thinking about it, but I have 2 major exams coming up in a week so editing is not my priority at the moment. Sorry :(_

* * *

 **Part One**

When Metatron used an image of Gabriel to try and get Castiel to fall in line was when Gabriel knew that he had to stop hiding again. He hadn't meant to be hidden for so long, not at first, but the longer that he hid the harder it had become to reveal himself. He hadn't exactly been pleasant to the Winchester brothers, and Castiel was very much on their side after the whole Apocalypse thing. Plus there were a number of other beings out there who didn't exactly like him. He hadn't really been out to make friends before.

He knew that they all figured he'd died, that day back at the hotel. However, he didn't just have his grace technically; he'd been playing as Loki for long enough and had enough followers as that role that it had given him a different kind of power. A power that he could use to augment his grace or visa versa as the need arose. So that day, when Lucifer had tried to kill him because he finally chose to stand up to his brothers instead of standing back and watching the fighting, he didn't actually die. His grace was low though, almost gone, and so he'd gone back into hiding. His powers as a Norse God had helped him, concealing him from the eyes of others who might want to try and find him. At first he'd told himself it was just going to be until his grace was fully restored, back to 100% and the forefront of his powers, but when that time and and went, he knew that he was only kidding himself. Running away and hiding was his nature at this point, it kept him safe emotionally and physically. It had become _easy_.

Metatron had no way of knowing that when he used an image of Gabriel to try and trick Castiel that it would alert Gabriel himself. It came with being Loki, he guessed. Tricking people was his bread and butter as the God of Mischief; someone using his image to try and trick someone was basically a tribute. The Scribe also had no real way of knowing that Gabriel's powers as Loki would allow him to use the image of himself that had been created. It wasn't to the extent as a duplicate body that Gabriel himself had made, but it was enough that once Castiel started to question, Gabriel was able to do what he should have done originally and let the younger angel know that he was alive.

There had been a trick to it, trying to let Castiel know that it was the truth without spelling it out in a way that Metatron would also know. He needed the rest of the angels to still believe him dead. He didn't want to take over Heaven like Rafael had and he didn't want everyone to be looking at him as some kind of _leader_.

When Castiel's eyes had grown wide in understanding, though, Gabriel knew that the angel of Tuesday, previously one of the chief strategists in Heaven, understood. It had been a relief, though it had also built up a nervous energy inside of the archangel as he waited to see when or if Castiel would come and find him. He wanted to run away again, to hide himself further, but instead he forced himself to stay where he was, in his newest safe house that was warded to the teeth where only beings with express permission could enter.

Gabriel wasn't sure what he'd expected, when Castiel finally found him, but it wasn't what he'd gotten. There was no word or sight of Castiel for some time, though Gabriel kept an eye on the younger angel and kept a finger on the pulse of the situation with Heaven and Earth. Metatron was taken down, a portal between Heaven and Earth located and guarded carefully to allow angels to come and go with permission. Heaven got new management, rules carefully put in place and an attempt to restore order made. Life moved on in regards to Earth and other supernatural elements. Ghosts made a mess and a hunter (sometimes the Winchesters) would salt and burn them, a demon would pop up and someone would take care of them. A few angels were left on Earth and Castiel kept an eye on them, the brothers and him taking care of them if they created any issues, but for the most part choosing to leave those who just wanted to live in peace alone.

After a while Gabriel figured that Castiel wasn't going to show up at all. Maybe Castiel hadn't realized what Gabriel was trying to tell him after all? Or maybe the seraph had decided that Gabriel had caused too much harm to the Winchester brothers, that even though the archangel had 'died' to give the brothers time to escape Lucifer, that he wasn't worth the time of day anymore? Whatever the reason, it came with great surprise when Castiel did finally show.

The young angel looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, his clothes in disarray, his skin sallow, and gaunt. Reaching out with his grace, Gabriel realized that even though Castiel had recovered his own grace at the fall of Metatron and that it had grown and repaired itself from the small sliver that had been left over after Metatron's deceit, it was now actually less than before. In fact, Gabriel was surprised that Castiel was even on his feet because his grace was definitely not enough to sustain him.

His younger brother was dying.

Catching the taller angel before he fell, Gabriel lead him into the safe house, using a bit of grace to make sure that the door closed and locked behind them. Thankful for his enhanced strength, Grabiel carefully maneuvered the sick angel towards the couch even as he let his grace flow over him to check for injuries or anything else that could have caused his grace to be so low. What he found almost made him stop, though he managed to force himself to continue until he had the tired angel laying on the couch as comfortably as possible. Castiel wasn't just sick, he really was dying, and over a broken bond. Gabriel hadn't realized that the younger angel had even created a bond, much less found a way to break it.

Casting his mind back, he tried to puzzle it out, and the answer wasn't really hard to find. The bond had been created with Dean, probably back when Castiel had pulled him up from the pit. There had been talk about it before, but no one had taken the rumors seriously because everyone assumed that a lowly seraph would never had the guts to make a bond with the vessel of an archangel. The question of how the bond was broken was harder, and one that Gabriel wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to.

A quick look over at Castiel's face, the normally curious blue eyes closed and a sheen of sweat covered all the exposed skin, made up Gabriel's mind.

Snapping his fingers, the archangel took Castiel's phone from his coat pocket, snorting slightly at the old model before finding Dean's contact and punching it into his own phone. He'd probably have had better luck if he'd used Castiel's, Dean probably not wanting to miss a call from the young angel, but he didn't want to use up Castiel's minutes if he didn't have to and he didn't want to look like he was trying to trick Dean either. He figured that if Dean didn't pick up, he would then try again by using Castiel's phone. It took a few rings, but eventually Dean answered with a curious, "Hello?"

Gabriel wasn't sure what to say at first, he needed Dean to believe him. When he realized that if he didn't say anything then Dean would probably just hang up, he forced out a quick greeting without much thought. "Hey Dean-o. Where are you?" Straight to the point, he needed to get Castiel to Dean immediately. If he was lucky Dean would answer without thinking as well.

"Gabriel? When did you come back to life? How?" Of course it was his luck that the normally thoughtless oaf would suddenly be full of good questions that would take way to long to answer if there was going to be any hope of Castiel being alive at the end of the conversation.

"Look, Dean-o, I'd love to shoot the shit with you over a slice of pie and tell you all about how Daddy-dearest brought me back to life and blah blah blah." It was the best quick answer that he could come up with, even though it wasn't true, and have Dean not question him too much further. God had brought both of the brothers back to life at one point or another and Castiel at least twice, it should be an explanation that they were willing to accept. "I have a bit of an _issue_ here, though, and I _really_ need to see you _right now._ So where are you?"

There was some rustle of fabric on the other end of the line and what sounded like a damp towel dropping. Any other time and Gabriel was sure that he'd have teased Dean about that.

"How do I know that you're really Gabriel? And what on earth could you need to talk to me face to face about so badly? You're suppose to be an _archangel._ " Gabriel could gash his teeth together for how stubborn Dean was being, though he had to admit that he admired the man's attempt at security. He was being slow though, making it more likely that Castiel wouldn't survive the conversation. If it wasn't for the warding that was still etched into their ribs, he'd just find the hunter's soul and poof there using that as his location.

Trying to reign in his irritation, Gabriel let his head knock painfully into the wall behind him.

Making one last ditch effort to reason, Gabriel figured that maybe if he brought Castiel into the conversation then Dean would stop fighting him so much. "I really don't have time for this Dean-o. This isn't about me, it's about Cassie. He's not exactly in top condition and _you_ are the only one who can fix it. So if you even remotely care for my little brother, then give me your address now so I can poof us to you and you can take care of the littlest angel."

Over the brief silence that followed his request, Gabriel could almost see Dean panicking, worry for the angel that the Winchesters had made no qualms about letting everyone know they considered to be basically family. Instead of just spewing his location, though, Dean seemed to force out his next words. "I need to know that you're really Gabriel." At least he wasn't saying that if he was Gabriel then he wouldn't let him in.

Letting out a long suffering sigh and trying to come up with a convincing argument quickly, Gabriel cast about in his mind for something, anything, that would maybe be enough. They were having a phone conversation, so it wasn't like he could offer physical proof.

Settling on something after a moment, Gabriel crossed his fingers that it would be enough. "Fine, fine, lets just hurry this up. Cassie isn't exactly getting any better while we chatter over this. In Broward County, I killed you a few hundred times to make a point to Sammy. The first time you were killed by a shot gun blast, the second time you were run over by a car being driven by a senile old man outside a diner, and the third time it was by a desk being dropped on you from a few stories up. The song 'Heat of the Moment' played every morning while you were stuck in the loop. Cassie also left a nice little momento on your shoulder where he pulled you out of hell, but he erased it after Sammy dropped Luci into the Cage." The last part was fishing on his end, he wasn't sure when Castiel had removed the bonding mark, only that he had eventually at some point. With the power required to remove a bond, though, that was his best guess as to when it happened.

For a long moment, Gabriel was afraid that it wasn't going to be enough. Maybe he'd gotten the last part wrong, his gamble going to hinder him instead of help, but then Dean's voice came back over the line, almost sounding pained. "Lebanon Kansas, the geographic center of the lower 48. You wont be able to poof straight in, go to the bunker door. I'll be there to let you in." The clipped sentences seemed to almost relax Gabriel as it let on that the hunter at least knew how serious the situation was.

Hanging up without a good-bye, Gabriel shoved his phone into his pocket along with Castiel's and then looked over at his younger brother. He was still awake, but was looking even worse than before. If he'd been right about when the mark had been removed, the bond severed, then he wasn't even sure how Castiel was even still alive. Bonds were hard to break and had even worse consequences, it was a testament to his strength that Castiel was even able to bring himself to Gabriel for help.

Moving as quickly as he could, he wrestled the taller angel back up off the couch, grunting at him to help instead of just being dead weight. Once they were both standing, Castiel's arm thrown over Gabriel's shoulder letting the older angel take the majority of his weight, Gabriel pulled up a mental map of the lower 48 states and pinpointed the center. Location roughly identified, he steeled himself to fly, dragging Castiel with him.

Dean hadn't been kidding about not being able to come straight in to what he'd called the bunker. The first few times that Gabriel tried to land, he came up against some fairly strong wards. The fifth time he attempted he managed to come to a stop in front of what looked like a weathered, but still strong metal door, a scowl on his face at how hard it had been to manage a landing. Of course, now that he knew where the bunker door was, he should be able to do so quicker in the future.

It seemed like only seconds later before the door was opened, showing Dean standing there with a worried look on his face. Green eyes flicked from Gabriel to Castiel a few times before the hunter stepped back and motioned with a jerky hand wave for them to come in. For a moment, Gabriel thought that Dean was going to try and take Castiel from him, but the hunter seemed to rethink it and instead shut the door and moved to lead them through what looked to be a rather crudely made, but nice hide out.

As they walked, first passing through what looked like a library, Dean fired off questions as if panicking. Every now and then he'd glance back, as if to make sure that Gabriel was still following him with Castiel.

"First Aid kit wont help, kiddo." Gabriel finally answered, grunting slightly as Castiel seemed to grow heavier against him. "You're going to have to help Cassie here hands on."

Thankfully they came upon what seemed to be Dean's room. Gabriel was sure that there were other rooms in the bunker, now that he was inside he could practically feel how large the place was. It was a good sign, in his opinion, that Dean took them to his room instead of an unoccupied one. It meant that perhaps Dean would be more willing to do what was necessary to get Castiel back up on his feet.

Carefully, Gabriel lowered his brother onto the bed, doing his best to make sure that the younger angel would be as comfortable as possible before turning towards Dean, who was standing back watching. He was honestly surprised that the hunter wasn't twitching, the man looked so worried and anxious.

When Dean didn't move to say or do anything, Gabriel realized that he was going to have to take control of the situation again.

"We're going to have to talk quick, because I don't know how long Cassie here really has." Dean seemed to pale further at this. "The handprint that he left on your shoulder when he raised you from hell, what do you know about it?"

Dean seemed to think for a few beats, a small frown tugging at his lips though he didn't move his eyes away from Castiel. "It was from him literally dragging me kicking and creaming from hell, I guess. Cas said that he'd had to grip my soul tight with his grace and it had left a mark in its place, but he was never strong enough to remove it until God had brought him back after Lucifer killed him."

Gabriel couldn't help but throw his hands up in the air, irritation shooting through him sharply. Of course Castiel hadn't explained the truth behind the mark to Dean. The angel was suppose to be one of the brightest minds in Heaven, but he somehow managed to do so many stupid things like not tell the hunter important details. Plus the angel seemed to be a self-sacrificing idiot when it came to the Winchesters.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, though his vessel didn't really need it, Gabriel tried to come up with as quick of an explanation as possible that would get Dean moving with what needed to be done. "I don't know that I have enough time to explain it all. You'll have to get a full explanation _after_ Cassie here wakes up and is coherent. Needles to say at this point, the handprint was more than just a mark left from him pulling you out of hell." He cast about some more, trying to come up with something, anything, that would be sufficient enough to get Dean to help Castiel without arguing about chick flick moments.

"The handprint was more of a bonding thing, not something that angels do lightly because it literally links two beings together in a very profound way. It's not meant to be removed, but sometimes it can happen. When it does, there are _always_ heavy consequences that get worse with the deeper the bond is. I hadn't realized how deep your bond with Castiel went until he showed up on my doorstep looking only a little better than this. It took a lot to figure out what had happened. You'll have to talk to him about that though. This point is, Dean-o, you need to literally help _hands on_."

Dean just stared at him blankly, obviously not catching on.

Rolling his eyes, Gabriel tried not to sigh and only crossed his arms sternly. "Oh come on! You can't really...ugh fine. He needs direct contact with you, with your soul. Hold hands, pet his hair, snuggle him, I don't care. Just whatever you do, be in contact with him, the more skin the better. Then for Dad's sake, when he wakes up, _talk_ to him about the damn handprint!"

If Dean didn't get it this time there was no helping him, so Gabriel turned and made his way out of the room. He trusted that Dean would do anything for the angel laying in that bed. Even before Gabriel had known about the bond, he'd known that the two of them had cared for each other more than either would admit. Now that Dean knew what to do, and he should know what to do unless he was being purposefully obtuse, Castiel would be fine in a few days. Maybe even hours, depending on how quickly Dean decided to get his head out of his ass.

* * *

Not having much else to do, Gabriel decided to go back to the front of the bunker and look to see what books there were. He was curious as to why the boys had seemed to have decided to make this place their home. Dean had looked pretty well moved into that room he'd taken them to, and Gabriel could remember a few things on the walk over that had struck him as something that only a person (or people) living somewhere would do. The random bag tossed against a closet door. The automated air freshener mounted in the corner of a walk way. The hall rugs scattered intermittently through the hallway.

Back in the library, the archangel-turned-Norse-God looked through the books, running a finger across the spines as he read. All of the texts were about the Supernatural and the like. There didn't seem to be single 'fun' read in the lot, which was interesting. This wasn't just a library, it was a research library for the Supernatural. He wouldn't be surprised if there were rare, limited edition texts in this place, just waiting to impart long forgotten knowledge on someone.

The sound of a book falling to the floor reverberated through the massive area, alerting Gabriel to the fact that he'd been so absorbed in looking at the texts that someone had been able to sneak up on him. His time in deep hiding had obviously slowed his reflexes down. Before he'd 'died' he didn't think that anyone would have been able to sneak up on him without some part of him alerting him to their presence.

Since there was no sudden attack, no knife being driven into his back or gun shot to his head, Gabriel figured that whoever it was was either as startled to see him as he was, or didn't mean him harm.

Turning slowly, Gabriel raised a brow at seeing Sam standing there, large brown eyes staring at him in surprise and jaw hung slack. Without really thinking about it, Gabriel shoved his fists into his pockets and smirked a little. "I know I'm sexy, Samsquatch, but there is no need to drool."

Gabriel could practically hear Sam's teeth click together from how sudden Sam closed his mouth, eyes narrowing slightly to.

Having apparently gotten his wits back together, Sam seemed to produce a knife out of no where, though Gabriel knew that both Winchesters kept at least one knife on them at all times. It was something that they'd learned to do from hunting, and it was probably a good habit to have even in their warded bunker. One day it might save their life, if it hadn't already.

Holding up his hands, Gabriel smiled as gently as possible and tipped his head in the direction where Dean's room was. "Cool your jets, Sammy. I called Dean, he let me in. Castiel is sick, needed Dean to fix him, so I brought your angel here as soon as I knew what was going on. You could go check for yourself if you don't believe me."

Sam's fierce gaze wavered slightly, his mind obviously working to try and piece the truth together. When the knife lowered, though the younger hunter didn't put it away, Gabriel let his hands dropped and waited. Sam was a good hunter, and he knew that the brothers had gone through enough that he wasn't about to just trust everything that Gabriel said without question. He also knew that he'd be doing his best to try and make sure that Gabriel wasn't up to no good. In his favor, though, was the fact that Gabriel really had been up to no good for quite some time.

"What's wrong with Castiel and why could you, and archangel, fix him? For that matter if you can't fix Cas, then how can Dean?" Trust the giant to hit up the first two biggest questions. The next one would be how Gabriel was still alive, but the archangel knew that to Sam there was no one more important than Dean and Castiel.

Shrugging slightly and relaxing back against the bookshelf behind him, Gabriel did his best to explain. He wasn't under such a time crunch as he was with Dean, so he figured that he might as well explain it all to Sam if he could. He didn't think that Dean would want to go into it all, and Castiel would probably follow Dean's lead.

"I'm sure you remember when Dean was raised from hell. He had that handprint on his shoulder and that was when you first met Castiel." He waited long enough for Sam to nod. "It seems that Cassie didn't exactly tell your brother, or you, the significance of what really happened that day. I don't know all the details, of course, because I wasn't there when it happened, but I know the rough outline."

Sam's eyes narrowed and his jaw worked for a moment. "I didn't ask about that, I asked you to tell me what was wrong and how Dean is suppose to be able to help him."

Neither hunter was the most patient, so Gabriel wasn't surprised by Sam's impatience, but it still rankled slightly. "I was getting there, you're just going to have to bare with me and stop interrupting. As I was saying...when Castiel raised Dean from hell, he Bonded with Dean which caused the mark. Before you ask, that's a really big deal. It's typically a forever thing for angels, it literally binds their graces together and they can barely live without the other's touch. I'm sure that you noticed that Cassie probably got closer than normal to Dean, maybe reached out to touch him occasionally. That was the Bond pulling Castiel towards Dean."

He saw realization light up in Sam's eyes, obviously connecting the dots.

"When Lucifer killed Castiel, shattering him into atoms, our Father brought him back into being and brought him back with more power than ever. That power boost gave Cassie the oomf he needed to break the Bond, why he'd do that I don't know because obviously it wasn't negatively affecting Dean and the consequences of breaking a Bond are pretty bad. Honestly, I'm surprised that he was able to hold on for so long after the Bond was broken. Maybe it was because he still hunted with you, visited often enough and touched Dean enough that it helped bring down the consequences. Maybe it was because at one point he was human then regained his Grace which gave him a small respite from the effects. I don't know, and I'm not sure that Cassie knows either."

Sam seemed to slump into the chair, his mind obviously making the connections quickly without Gabriel having to spell it out. "Dean is helping Castiel by touching him." It was a statement, the answer to the last half of his question, Sam's voice sounding a mix of amused and exasperated. Gabriel couldn't help but wonder how much dancing around Sam had been witness to between their brothers.

Nodding, Gabriel let himself relax more now that Sam was. "Correct in one. When Cassie showed up on my doorstep earlier today he was basically dead, his grace almost gone and what little was left basically attacking itself. When I found out I called up Dean-o, convinced him to tell me where you two were, and brought Cassie here to him. Now, hopefully, if everything is going right your brother is doing what he needs to do to bring Cassie back to the land of the living and then they'll talk it out. Honestly, if I were you, I'd give them some room because there is no telling what will happen once Dean gets Cassie to explain all of this to him."

Silence seemed to fill into the place, Sam obviously thinking about what Gabriel was saying and trying _not_ to think about what might be going on in Dean's room.

Gabriel wasn't sure how much time passed before Sam spoke up again. Having lived so long and not ever sleeping meant that time didn't seem to move at the same pace for the archangel as it did normal people. Eventually, though, Sam's curiosity seemed to get the better of him and he started asking more questions.

"How are you still alive? I thought you died after Lucifer stabbed you...and tell me more about the whole Bond thing. You said that it ties two graces together, but Dean doesn't have grace."

More good questions and one of which Gabriel was surprised Sam hadn't asked earlier. Though he'd lied to Dean about it over the phone, Gabriel wasn't sure that he could bring himself to lie to Sam about it.

"I've been Loki long enough, gained enough worshipers back in the day who believed that I was him, that after all this time I have magic from that belief. It's kind of like the gates of heaven, they didn't really exist until suddenly a mass of humans _believed_ they existed. Same with some of the monsters that you and your brother hunt. They didn't exist until someone's folk lore made people believe. So when Lucifer was about to kill me, I was able to create a copy of myself and infuse it with basically all of my grace to make him think it was my actual vessel. When he stabbed that copy he really did destroy that grace. I was able to go back into hiding using my powers as Loki until my grace recovered."

Sam looked like he was about to say something else, question more, so Gabriel quickly jumped to the next question to try and head him off. While he didn't think he could bring himself to lie to Sam, there were still things that he wasn't sure that he wanted the younger Winchester to know about. Sam was too bright, too curious to not come up with hard questions that he wouldn't want to answer, so the best course of action – in his opinion – was to just head them off from the get go.

"As for the Bond thing. It's not impossible for an angel to create a Bond with a human. It just means that instead of two graces being tied together, Cassie's grace is tied to Dean's soul. The only time that Cassie could have done that was in Hell when he was getting Dean, which I think it's interesting because Cassie barely knew the man and most angels take years of courting before they even _think_ about Bonding, much less following through with it. An angel can't bond through a vessel either. The soul that belongs in the vessel would hinder such a thing.

"To be honest, it's probably a good thing that Cassie was atomized and brought back by Dad. It means that his vessel doesn't contain a soul as well, it just has him in it. That's the only way that he's going to be able to get the Bond back in place, assuming Dean-o agrees anyway."

If it was possible, Sam's eyebrows would have hit his hairline at that. "So, if I'm understanding the undercurrent of that statement, the only way for Cas to recover fully would be to put the Bond back in place? What does that mean for Dean? Why didn't Dean have any adverse symptoms from the bond being cut? You said he'd have to directly touch his soul to make the bond."

Deciding that if he was going to be talking to Sam for a while, which it looked like he would be, that he should be comfortable, Gabriel moved towards the table to sit. At his movement, Sam tensed slightly, fingers gripping more firmly around the hilt of the knife in his hand. He didn't move to attack, though, instead watching with hard eyes as Gabriel took a seat and settled down into it, a slice of cake appearing on the table in front of him and a fork in his hand.

Between bites of the rich chocolate cake, Gabriel tried to figure out the best way to explain that part. It was a little more complicated than the whole Bond thing, he was curious as to how Castiel was going to explain it to Dean, though he had a feeling that the young angel would gloss over some parts. Sam, though, was an intellectual and highly curious. As much as the giant of a man could fight a good fight, he preferred knowledge over brawn.

"I'm guessing that when the Bond was put in place the first time, Cassie probably didn't fully mean to and Dean probably had no helping with creating it." Gabriel felt along as he spoke, trying to figure out how to phrase it delicately. "When it's two angels, they just sort of...know, when the person they are looking at is their mate. We don't normally stay in a vessel, so when we see each other we directly see each others grace. They still typically take time to get to know each other, but angels generally will know who they are most compatible with at a glance, it's kind of like a tug. I'm only guessing here, mind you, but I figure that Castiel knew, instinctively, that Dean was his match. When he raised Dean from hell, Dean probably fought him, and so he had to basically wrap your brother up in his grace to pull him out. The Bond might have just instinctively snapped into place on his end, something an Angel would normally stop happening if they weren't distracted."

He waited for Sam to nod to show that he understood. Gabriel was also pleased to note that as he talked, giving the young man new information, that he seemed to lean forward and relax again. "This time, Dean has a choice. He knows what's going on and Castiel isn't letting the Bond just snap into place on it's own. If Dean consents, then the Bond will be even stronger than before and it was pretty damn strong to start with. The closest thing I could describe it as would be like your human marriage, but there is no divorce really – unless Dean and Castiel want to go through what Castiel just went through – and if Dean should die then he gets a one way trip to wherever Castiel is. He wont be an Angel, but he could possess a new vessel if he wanted, or if Cassie returns to Heaven then he can stay as a soul and just be with Cassie in his True Form.

"As for how the Bond would go back in place now? The place where the mark will be extremely thin, in a way. If Dean is consenting and fully willing to create the Bond, his Soul and Castiel's grace should be able to use that area of the vessel to reestablish the Bond without and pain or hand shoving in chests."

Sam relaxed more as Gabriel talked, resting against the table. For a moment Gabriel wasn't sure what to expect. He wasn't sure where Sam could go with his questions at his point. Of course, Sam always was the tricky one of the Winchesters, something that Gabriel approved of.

It seemed that the younger hunter of the duo decided that since he had an archangel in front of him, apparently willing to answer anything asked of him, that he'd get some answers. Why he didn't ask Castiel those questions was up in the air, but Gabriel had a feeling that it was because the younger angel came off as so innocent. It seemed almost impossible that Castiel was actually as old as he really was or that he might know more about things like angel mating habits than he actually did.

When Gabriel magicked up some more cake, this time going with strawberry with cream cheese icing, he was mildly surprised when Sam reached out and stole it from him. Making himself some more, Gabriel chose not to comment and just enjoy it. He knew that Sam didn't let loose often enough, and was a health nut to boot. Watching him enjoy a slice of cake and picking his brain for information about things he didn't know was amusing and amazing to watch. It was like Sam was starved for information and now that he had access to someone who was admittedly alive before humans and most monsters were even created...

For the next few hours they talked, Sam slowly relaxing and eventually even moving the knife away from the direct contact with his hands. It wasn't necessarily out of reach, but at least it wasn't an immediate threat to the archangel. Of course, the blade wouldn't have really done much except cause a pinch, really, but it wasn't like Gabriel was about to jump at being hurt even it wasn't going to be fatal.

Eventually, though, Sam's eyes start to droop, his questions coming slower and slower.

Snapping away the dirty dishes, Gabriel tapped the table gently with one finger until he was sure that he had Sam's wandering attention. "Sambo, you look like you're about to drop off on me. You probably should go get your beauty rest if you plan on bugging big bro tomorrow about the little angel who could."

Sam scoffed slightly before tipping his head slightly in agreement. "Yeah, I should probably get some sleep. Um...you going to be okay by yourself? Cas always says that angels don't sleep."

It was sweet that Sam was thinking of him, especially since only hours ago it was obvious that Sam didn't trust him. Throwing an arm over the back of his chair and propping one ankle up on his knee, Gabriel gave the young hunter his best smile. "Well I could always join you." When Sam sputtered slightly, eyes widening in surprise, Gabriel couldn't help but laugh. "I'm joking, Sammy. Go get some sleep. I'll watch Netflix or repaint the walls or something."

With a shake of his head and a small chuckle, Sam wished him good night and then walked off to his own room, leaving Gabriel alone in the library once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

Sam wasn't sure what he was thinking when he went to his room, leaving Gabriel alone in the bunker common space, the night before. When he'd woken up the next morning, his first thought had been that it had just been a dream, but he could still taste a faint hint of the strawberry cake that he'd shared with the angel-turned-trickster. Briefly he wondered if Gabriel would still be there, or if now that Castiel was at the bunker – and hopefully healing – he'd have disappeared while everyone slept. The archangel had been in hiding for so long, it wouldn't be surprising if it was the only thing he knew how to do anymore.

Laying in his bed, Sam pondered over his feelings about having seen the angel again. On one hand, Gabriel had killed Dean over and over again, leaving Sam stuck in an infinite time loop until Sam had forced him to stop it. Then he'd let Sam go without his brother for months before showing up and bringing Sam back to that Wednesday when he'd feared that he'd lost Dean for good. As Loki, the archangel had done so much damage to other people too. Granted it was mostly justified karma, in a way falling within the scope of the archangel's duties at the angel of justice. It was just a little more...sweet...when he played the role of Loki.

Then there was what had happened at that hotel, when the other gods from various religions had seemed to gang up on Sam and his brother, killing or planning on killing the other humans that had stopped for the night. Gabriel had gotten them out, and then when Lucifer had showed up, the angel had gone up against his own brother for them and had seemed to die. Sam could remember vague stories that Castiel had told once about how close Gabriel was to Lucifer before Lucifer's fall from grace. Castiel had once said that it was almost as if Lucifer had raised Gabriel to some extent, God having already started to pull away from the angels as he planned his newest creations. Sam wasn't sure that he'd have been able to do what Gabriel had done, in fact in many ways he'd done the exact opposite of what Gabriel had done for him...them. They had expected Gabriel to fight his brother - to try and kill his brother - for them when they themselves weren't willing to fight each other for the angels.

Dean had always accused Sam of being too sensitive, too willing to look at monsters and try and find something redeeming about them. For a while, Sam had tried to do as Dean and their father had done; tried to create a defined line between human and monsters. Castiel had blown that all away. The angel was obviously not human, but he wasn't a _monster_ either. He was just...different. In many ways, the strange angel had more humanity in him than many humans did. It made him wonder if Gabriel really was all that bad as they'd first thought.

Deciding that it was too deep of thoughts of too early in the morning, especially before coffee, Sam pushed himself out of his bed and threw on some lounge clothes before heading towards the bathroom to relieve himself then towards the kitchen. If Dean followed his usual habits, he wouldn't be up for a few more hours, Sam typically choosing to wake up early to go for a run or use the Men of Letter's work out room. The equipment had been pretty dated, when they found the bunker, but he'd splurged using Joseph Greenway's credit card and bought some more up to date equipment.

He wasn't sure if finding Gabriel in the kitchen, spatula in hand, was a surprise or not. The smaller man was capable of making food or anything really appear with a snap of his fingers, but was standing over the stove wearing a frilly apron and whistling a nameless tune.

Pausing in the doorway of the kitchen, Sam took in the sight with a raised brow. He could hear the sizzling pop of bacon and could smell cooking eggs. The coffee pot was also full, and a rich scent of coffee met him as well. A plate of toast was already made, and there seemed to be freshly squeezed orange juice on the counter as well if the orange rinds were anything to go by.

Leaning his shoulder against the door frame, Sam crossed his arms over his chest and tried to keep himself from smiling as he cleared his throat. He wasn't sure if Gabriel knew he was there or not, but the short archangel didn't jump at the noise, instead spinning around with a bright smile.

"Gooood morning Sammy!" If it wasn't for the fact that Gabriel didn't actually sleep, Sam would have said that it was indecent how chipper he was for so early in the morning. "I've taken it upon myself to make sure that everyone has a good, hearty breakfast! I'm sure the boys in Dean's room will need it. Grab a plate and load her up, I'm finishing up the last of the bacon know and eggs are almost done. Coffee is made and there is orange juice on the counter, as I'm sure you can see. Sausage and already cooked bacon are in the oven, I'll move out of your way so you can get to them."

Sam moved forward to grab a plate that had already been set out as Gabriel did as he said and stepped out of the way of the oven so he could open it and get himself some of the breakfast meats. Once Sam had moved back, Gabriel flipped the oven closed again and served him some of the eggs that had just finished while he grabbed some toast.

Watching the archangel from the corner of his eye, Sam set his plate down on the table that they'd moved into the kitchen to eat quick meals at then grabbed himself a mug from the cabinet and got some of the coffee. As he did this, Gabriel plated the rest of the eggs and stuck them in the oven to stay warm with the rest of the food. Once he was done, he joined Sam at the table with his own cup of coffee and a glass of juice.

"You're not eating?" It was a stupid question, Sam knew. Castiel had said often enough that angels didn't need to eat, and it wasn't like Gabriel had a plate of food in front of him. The only time that Sam could ever recall seeing _any_ angel actually eat anything was when Gabriel ate sweets.

Shrugging casually, the archangel leaned forward on the table slightly with his hands wrapped around a mug. The image seemed strange to Sam. Such a powerful being, one with the powers of an archangel and a God, sitting at their kitchen table with it's bench seats with his hands wrapped around a coffee and wearing a frilly apron. It was domestic in a way that seriously surprised the young hunter, especially when Gabriel's flamboyant personality was taken into account.

"I don't often eat, Sambo, I'm sure that Cassie has told you that angel's don't _need_ to eat. As Loki, I've gained a sweet tooth, playing Trickster and all that jazz, and I've learned over the years that if I _do_ eat that it helps he recover powers quicker if I've used them a lot." At this Gabriel raised his mug to Sam with a wry smile. "Coffee, though...coffee is _great_ no matter who you are."

This brought a soft chuckle from Sam's throat, the emphasis on the matter bringing back memories of college. Sam could remember those college nights where he'd pulled late nights fulled purely by caffeine in the form of energy drinks and coffee. There were the occasional late night while hunting, but Sam and Dean had quickly realized that they were more efficient and better hunters when they actually slept so they tended to keep the late nights on a minimum when they could. Coffee was still good though, something that he definitely needed to wake up and as he took a sip of the coffee that Gabriel had made he quickly realized that the angel made one mean cup.

They continued breakfast after that in mostly silence, Sam focusing on eating while he fished for something to say. It wasn't until he was almost done with his meal that a topic came up, something that they both were probably invested in to some degree.

"So...do you think Dean and Cas are okay? I mean, you said that you had hopes that Cas would let Dean redo the Bond, this time willingly and all that. Should we be checking on them?"

Gabriel pulled a face and shook his head. "With as deteriorated as Cassie was from the Bond, there was no telling how long it was going to take for him to wake up once Dean-o was present. If all he did was hold his hand, then it could have been days." Sam furrowed his brow slightly at this, if it was going to possibly take days for Castiel to wake up then surely they should be going to check in on them. Before he could comment, though, Gabriel let out an amused chuckle.

"So of course I checked in on them last night after you went to bed." Of course, Sam should have realized that there was no way that the trickster angel would just leave it up to chance. "Dean-o and Cassie were happily curled up together and the Bond Mark looks at home on your older bro's shoulder. I don't expect them to make an appearance any time soon, though, unless forced to anyway."

It was good to know that Dean had finally come to terms, or hopefully come to terms, with what was going on between him and Castiel. Honestly, Sam was tired of the egg shells that the two of them had walked around each other. Castiel had backed off quite a bit from invading Dean's space and what not and Dean had come to be nicer to the angel, but the eye-sex that had started up was getting to be unbearable. What had made it worse, at the time, was that Sam hadn't been sure that they were aware that they both were doing it and it wasn't just one-sided. There had been a few times that he'd thought to bring it up, to tell them to get a room or to look them in a warded room together so they could work it out. At least now he wouldn't have to do that.

Picking up his plate as he drained the last of his coffee, Sam set them in the kitchen sink to wash later and turned back to Gabriel. He wasn't sure what to say, or what he really needed to say. He'd been getting up to basically being alone in the bunker for so long that he wasn't use to eating breakfast with anyone or feeling like he needed to excuse himself.

After a moment's hesitation, he settled on, "I'm going to go work-out. If you need the showers they are just through that door there." With that he walked out, heading towards the gym.

For the next hour he lost himself in the repetition that had become second nature at this point.

As he worked out, his mind wandered, something that was fairly normal. First, he contemplated the Dean and Castiel thing. During the Q&A session last night with Gabriel, he'd learned about Angelic mating habits and how things worked between mated pairs. It would obviously mean some changes would happen between the couple. Gabriel had mentioned that when angels mated there was a driving need for touch, and while it didn't mean constant touching it meant a lot of little casual touches while in the same room. Sam figured that would take some getting use to, and if Castiel was as bad off as Gabriel had said he was then he wouldn't be surprised if at first they needed more than just a few casual touches.

That train of thought eventually lead him back to Gabriel. The archangel hadn't seemed like the type, on the occasions that they'd seen each other, to have the patience or the inclination to sit still and answer endless questions. He'd seemed comfortable to do just that the night before, though. The brown haired angel had sat there, occasionally snapping up some dessert or another and just let Sam ask whatever question he'd wanted. It hadn't even been limited to the situation between Dean and Castiel, the whole mating and bond thing, but he'd been more than happy to talk about the creation of supernatural monsters and human kind.

He'd obviously steered away from certain topics, but Sam had tried to be respectful of that. After having been in hell for a while, locked in a cage with Lucifer, and then getting his memories of that time back, Sam understood not wanting to talk about certain things. All in all, the conversation had been good, even with the out of bounds topics. Gabriel had still been flamboyant, putting a flare in his storytelling and answers, but it had only made the conversation more interesting instead of letting it become annoying like Sam had first thought that it would.

He'd actually been quite surprised when Gabriel had pointed out, in his own way, that Sam was falling asleep. Normally Sam had issues sleeping around people other than his brother. It was what he assumed was a carry over from hunting and trying to always be on alert. While he was glad that he could help keep the states safe from the monsters, the job really did have some down sides. Primarily in the lack of income and the devastating affects it had on his sleep while on a hunt.

Doing a quick cool down, Sam finished up in the gym right at the hour mark. Skin sticky with sweat and hair plastered against the back of his neck and his forehead, he grabbed the clothes that he kept in the gym for his workout days and headed towards the gym showers. The water pressure in the gym wasn't as great as the main shower room, but the benefit was that he wouldn't have to trek across the bunker stinking of sweat or in smelly clothes.

Cleaned and dressed, he headed back towards his room to drop his gym clothes in the laundry hamper.

Once the clothes were put away though Sam wasn't sure what to do with himself. Gabriel was still in the bunker somewhere, probably one of the common areas like the library or even the room that they'd converted to look like an entertainment room with a large screen TV and surround sound speakers. He wasn't sure if he wanted to seek out the archangel's presence again, to ask him questions or just talk in general, or if he wanted to try and avoid him for a while. He still wasn't sure how he felt about Gabriel's sudden revival from death, though he could also feel himself thawing towards the older male. So many relationships, platonic and otherwise, had been seriously messed up due to his hunting and other reasons, he wasn't sure that he wanted to go looking to make friends with an archangel.

As he passed by Dean's room – wandering aimlessly through the bunker had seemed like a good idea until he had an idea of what he wanted to do – he realized that he had another option other than Gabriel. He _was_ worried about Dean and Castiel. Of course, there was no telling what was going on on the other side of the door.

Worrying his lip between his teeth, Sam floundered for a moment before taking a deep breath and prepping himself. He was worried about his brother and Castiel was his friend. He couldn't hear anything...strange...going on and the bunker walls were thick but not soundproof. Mind made up, Sam flung the door open quickly before he could backtrack and start over thinking it again. With a quick step, he entered the room before the door could bounce back and hit him from the force that he'd used to open it with.

His eyes went wide before he could even fully register what he was seeing.

Slapping a hand over his eyes, Sam tried to hold back a squeak of distress at what would probably be forever burned into his head. His brother sprawled, naked as the day he was born, across the bed with Castiel half pinned under him and also naked was definitely not what he thought he was going to be seeing when he went to check on them.

"Oh my god, Dean! Put some clothes on." He didn't shriek...it was a manly yell...that was slightly high pitched. And okay, he definitely shrieked, but he wasn't about to admit it even if he was dying. He had just been taken by surprise by seeing his brother's bare ass.

In reply, Sam could hear Dean grunt then the sound of the bed and sheets shifting. After a few moments, Dean let out a soft laugh that stuck Sam as more content and amused than anything. "I guess that will teach you to enter my room without permission again, huh? Now, what are you ruining my afterglow for?"

Parting his fingers slightly and shifting his head, Sam peeked to make sure that Dean was actually decent before dropping his hand entirely and turning to face him.

"Gabriel showed up yesterday in the bunker without any warning, but said that you'd let him in and Castiel was hurt. I wanted to come and see if he was doing any better. I would have come yesterday when I found out, but Gabe was pretty insistent that I give you some time to 'let the mojo work' and to not bother you two. I guess I understand why now."

It wasn't necessarily the truth, and Sam really hoped that Dean didn't catch onto the slip of Gabriel's name, but it was enough. Thankfully Dean didn't seem suspicious, his face softening slightly even as it looked like he was puzzling something out.

Ever unaware of human awkwardness, even after his breif stint as a human, Castiel's voice stopped Dean from saying anything as he expressed his thanks, though confusion also colored his voice. "I do not know how much Gabriel told you about what was wrong with me, but Dean was quite capable of handling the issues and I'm feeling stronger than I have in some time."

Grasping the conversation with both hands, thankful that it didn't stray too close to what Sam had obviously walked in on the endings of, Sam turned his attention to the angel who was looking a little more pale than usual still but otherwise healthy. The thought _"strong enough for sex, obviously"_ flitted across his mind, but he was quick to push it away in hopes of staying far away from that topic. Instead he settled for, "He said something about a bond and hand print, but quite frankly he got distracted by the pie that Dean made and I don't think we ever got back to the topic."

That was more of an outright lie, but it was enough to save face and it gave them control of how much to tell him. Sam was sure that Dean would appreciate his younger brother not knowing too much about the Bond that he shared with the angel. They had never had the kind of familial relationship where they were comfortable talking about romantic relationships beyond who was hot and who wasn't.

Thankfully it was enough for Dean, who turned his attention to gathering up clothes, and Castiel seemed ready to give some kind of controlled information. Sam listened with half an ear as the angel talked, trying to figure out how to exit the room without causing too big of a scene that Dean would later goad him about. His eyes eventually landed on Dean's shoulder in curiosity, hearing Castiel talk about the bond, and he wasn't surprised to see the redish-pink handprint that had been there before. It looked more raw now, more deep, but it looked right in some way.

Silence filled the room when Castiel stopped talking and after a moment Sam figured that he either needed to awkwardly leave the room, which he figured was relatively safe now, or he'd need to fill the silence so it didn't get more awkard. The idea of getting more information straight from Castiel and Dean and to see how much information they were actually willing to give was too good to pass up, and Sam found himself asking a rather obvious question. "So Dean allowed you to place the bond again?"

Castiel seemed happy to reply, awe filling his voice as he regarded Dead even as he spoke to Sam. "Yes, the new bond is stronger than before as well, having been made willingly and knowingly by both of us. It will move past the profound bond that we once had, to something more extraordinary."

When Dean looked over at Castiel with an unabashedly fond look, Sam couldn't help but let his brows raise. He hadn't ever seen his older brother look so open and happy before, it was nice in a way if a little creepy. Still, Sam couldn't help the urge to push more, to see what he could get away with. "I am going to go out on a limb here and say that you're not just talking about a normal bond. You're talking something more permanent and...personal. Are you saying that the two of you are married?"

Surprisingly Dean was the one to answer, his tone brittle and harsh, making Sam tense in surprise. "You trying to say something, Sammy?"

Sam had always assumed that Dean knew about his sexuality. It wasn't like he'd hidden it from his brother, though he'd never openly flaunted it either. Ever since early high-school he'd realized that he was attracted just as much to men as he was females. He'd known that his Dad wouldn't approve of it, which was why he had come into the habit of not announcing his relationships, but he'd never really tried to hide them from his brother either. He'd always assumed that, what with them having gone to the same school for a time, that his brother had known like many of his other classmates.

Forcing himself to relax, Sam reminded himself that Dean was use to his father's and other hunter's way of thinking. The manly men who didn't want to look twice at each other beyond a basic appraisal of possible skill. "No, no. I'm happy for you, Dean. At least I don't have to watch you two eye fucking each other anymore and I wont have to listen to your conquest stories." He tried to interject some humor into the situation, watching as Dean's shoulders started to relax and his jaw unclinch. "I really don't want any more details, thank you. Just...put a sock on the door knob or something so I know when to avoid this hallway in the future."

With a laugh, Sam left the room, finally feeling that he was leaving on a note that wouldn't allow his brother to tease him too unmercifully. As soon as the door was closed, though, he darted as quickly as possible down the hall into the library.

He stopped short once he was in the library, leaning up against one table as he scrubbed a hand over his face and tried to will away the mental image that he was sure was going to forever be etched into his mind. He really wasn't going to be forgetting what he'd just seen. It was surprising, he realized, that with as much as the two of them lived in each other's back pockets that he hadn't been in this position before.

A soft laugh brought his attention to the fact that he wasn't alone in the room, reminding him of the reason that he'd been struggling to decide what to do earlier.

Looking up, Sam realized that Gabriel was seated at the table that he was leaning against. He was casually seated in the chair, slumped slightly with one ankle propped up against the other knee. In his hand was a book, tattered at the corners but in relatively good condition despite the fact that the title was all but worn off as well.

There must have been something showing on Sam's face, because Gabriel dropped his foot and set down the book, leaning forward slightly in his chair. "Did something happen? You look like you've seen a ghost, which is saying something because you've actually seen ghosts."

Knowing it was a bad idea, but almost unable to keep himself from babbling, Sam was talking before he knew what he was saying. "I should have listened to you. I just saw two bare asses that I never wanted to see and I really need brain bleach. Oh god, where can I get brain bleach?"

As he'd expected, Gabriel started laughing, a deep rolling laugh that seemed to come from his belly and lit his face up with unabashed glee. It was different from the laughter that Sam had heard in the past from the archangel, the bitter little laugh as Gabriel said he was trying to teach him a lesson, the self-depreciating laugh at the hotel. This laugh made Sam pause, made him really look at the archangel. The dancing golden brown eyes, the brown hair grown out slightly and curled behind ears. It was different. It was human in a way that he'd never seen archangel before.

Sam was snapped out of his sudden thoughts when Gabriel was moving, drawing closer. His eyes were still dancing with humor even though the laughter had ended. Before Sam knew what was happening, there were cool lips pressed against his, a smaller warm hand pressed against his chest as Gabriel used him to stabilize himself while he pushed up to press the kiss against Sam.

When Gabriel drew back, the laughter was fully gone, surprise lighting up his eyes instead, reflecting the same surprise that Sam felt. "Oh," Sam wasn't sure which one of them said it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

The rest of the day Sam hid out in his room with a stack of books and his laptop. Dean and Cas had shown up shortly after The Kiss (which Sam had started to think of in capital letters). His older brother had blundered in, as usual, without realizing the tension that had seeped into the room. Cas had been a little more aware, looking back and forth between Sam and Gabriel with a confused look on his face.

Gabriel had used the interruption to their advantage, it seemed, and quickly whisked the older hunter and the younger Angel into the kitchen chattering about breakfast. He even interrupted Cas when he'd gone to argue against eating, pointing out that just over 24 hours ago the angel hadn't been able to stand on his own and had slept for quite a while. Even angels sometimes needed a little extra boost to help their healing and allowing his Grace to focus on repairing itself instead of sustaining his body would give Cas a faster recovery time hopefully.

Sam had stuck around only long enough for a the stone that had been in his throat to sink to his stomach as he watched Castiel and Dean. The two of them had been dancing around each other for so long, and though he knew they were newly Bonded or whatever, the casual intimacy that they were displaying was just a stark reminder of what he didn't have. It also threw into stark relief what had just happened moments ago with The Kiss.

He couldn't think of a single time in his life that a kiss had felt like that.

It was like coming home and a ball of lightening rolled into one. The press of dry, thin lips against his, the soft give of a firmer mouth...Sam had kissed a good number of people in his time, though he didn't slut it around like Dean had done at one time, he had to admit that The Kiss with Gabriel had been unparalleled. It was comfort and heat, electric and calming, and so so much more. It hadn't been perfect – too unpracticed, too hasty and clashing – but it had felt _right_ and that was perhaps the most startling part of it all.

As soon as Sam had been able to he'd retreated. The solitude had never bothered him in the past, at times the only thing able to settle his mind, but it seemed that it would be different this time around.

Instead of allowing him to realign his thoughts, to sort and organize through the feelings that seemed to clash inside his head, he felt restless and on edge. The books failed to hold his attention, though he forced himself to try and focus and take notes. Occasionally, when the restless energy became too much, he stood and stalked around his room before taking a seat at his desk once more and trying to plug away at the books.

At one point he'd stopped and looked around his room with a frown.

When they'd moved into the bunker full time, Dean had immediately tried to make it into a home. The older hunter had gone and bought a new bed, some memory foam thing, and had bought some home décor to add touches of something to the almost academically cold bunker. His room was warm and inviting, offering comforts of home that had been foreign to the boys for as long as Sam could remember.

On the other hand, Sam hadn't done anything really. He'd claimed a room, sure, but he hadn't even made a passing attempt to really get comfortable. The bed was the same lumpy, hard mattress that had been there when they'd moved in, the bedding the same scratchy linens that they'd found in an old musty closet. The only thing he'd done was make a place on the old desk for his laptop and occasionally brought a book or two in from the library to look over before bed or when he couldn't sleep but didn't want to risk waking up Dean. There was nothing of his, and he suddenly realized how cold and impersonal the room actually was. He might as well be in a guest room at someone's house.

It was nearly four in the afternoon when a knock came to his door, startling him out of thoughts and drawing his eyes away from the book that he wasn't even really seeing. Somehow, Sam knew who it was behind the door, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to answer it.

He wasn't some scared child who ran away from their problems or the unknown, though, so he forced himself out of his seat and went to the door, opening it enough to see Gabriel standing there casually, hands in his pockets and a wry grin on his face. Neither of them moved or said anything for a time, until Sam eventually stepped to the side and held the door open a little wider so the archangel could enter.

As he looked around the room, taking in the details and the lack of things, Gabriel cleared his throat. "You know, our brothers think that you have been holed up in here either because you're jealous of them or because what you walked in on means that you can't look at them the same anymore. Dean is really up in arms about the fact that you might be homophobic."

Sighing and running a hand down his face, Sam nodded slightly and closed the door, figuring that the conversation they were about to have might as well be semi-private. "I'll talk to him again later, and they might be slightly right on the first part. Being a hunter isn't exactly conductive to relationships and happiness. I'm glad that they have each other, don't get me wrong, but..." he trailed off, unsure how to continue.

Gabriel didn't seem to mind the lapse, nodding in some kind of understanding as he turned to face Sam. It struck Sam that the archangel looked as lost as he felt. Though the customary wry grin was still on the archangel-turned-Norse-god's face, there was an almost confused look in his eyes. Sam was fairly sure it wasn't the first time that Gabriel had kissed anyone, the trickster had made a porno for heaven's sake. The thought crossed his mind that perhaps the seemingly ageless being had felt something like what Sam had during The Kiss, but that idea was quickly swept away as an impossibility.

There was no way that someone so old that they could remember the dawn on man would feel such things for a mortal. Besides, Gabriel had said that Angel's bonded for eternity, there was no separation for them. Thinking that such an old being hadn't already found their Mate or whatever was ridiculous; the archangel probably had a mate hidden away somewhere or his mate had been taken from him.

"You really need to spruce up the place a bit, Sambo." Gabriel's voice filled the room again, the teasing lit and now familiar nickname drawing Sam back out of his thoughts once more. "I mean, really, the whole military barracks thing was totally in for a while, but you've got to get with the times. You're suppose to be _living_ here, not sleeping over. Get some throws, some nice sheets, maybe a picture or two for the walls at least."

It probably should surprise Sam to be getting decorating advice from Gabriel, but despite the power that the other man had, it wasn't actually surprising in the list. Sam knew that Gabriel liked nice things, he liked luxury and comforts.

As if he didn't sense Sam's confusion or hear his lack of response, Gabriel continued on uninterrupted. "Maybe slap some paint on the walls? A nice yellow maybe to help brighten up the room some since you don't exactly have any windows in this place. Not that I'm complaining, of course, whatever floats your boat and all that, but really...I would have expected something like this from Dean-o, really, but his room was surprisingly comfortable actually. The wall of weapons was a nice touch."

Rolling his eyes, Sam sank back into the chair that he'd abandoned. The restlessness that he'd felt earlier was suddenly gone and though he had no idea why he was content to wave it off for the moment. For a while he just sat there, listening to Gabriel chatter on about what he could do to make the bedroom more comfortable. He wasn't unaware that it was the archangel's attempt at deflecting from the actual issue at hand, though, and after a while he got tired and decided that it was time to just bite the bullet. He wasn't going to be able to avoid Gabriel forever, especially if he decided to hang around the bunker for a while, which Sam had a feeling was going to happen since it wasn't like anyone was actually in a hurry to kicking him out. So he might as well just get the uncomfortable conversation out of the way and then he could spend his time hold up in the room to actually avoid his brother, maybe then he could at least get some work down while he was at it.

"Gabriel," He interrupted the rambling monologue, waiting for the shorter man to fall silent before Sam continued. "Why did you kiss me earlier?"

The question got a small shrug and the wry smile again, though Sam was starting to realize when that smile was more forced than true. After a moment, Gabriel realized that his non-answer wasn't going to work and so he seemed to slump as he answered more. "You needed a distraction and I was kind of working on whim, like I usually do. I thought it would be...amusing. To see your reaction if I kissed you, it wasn't really suppose to mean anything."

They both lapsed into silence for a moment after that. Sam wasn't sure what he'd been expecting in answer, and perhaps what Gabriel had said was close to what he'd been expecting, but for some reason it didn't strike him as true either. Apparently the answer didn't appease Gabriel either, as he seemed to heave a giant sigh and sank down on the bed before continuing to talk.

"I was unaware that you'd been possessed by an Angel, or that you'd had to fight so hard to get him out of your body. It left your soul rather close to the surface, though I expect that given time it might sink back down a little. It means, though, that when I kissed you...Unlike other Angels I'm not walking the earth in a borrowed vessel. I used magic and grace combined to form my own vessel, I had to if I was going to walk among the Norse Gods without them realizing who or what I actually was. When I kissed you, even for that brief moment...my grace touched your soul."

Sam wasn't sure that was an answer either, but it at least gave him something to go on. Maybe.

Letting the idea roll around in his head for a split moment, Sam tried to figure out what Gabriel was getting at. For some reason, though, his thoughts kept running back to those feelings that he'd had during that kiss. If what Gabriel was saying was true, then perhaps those feelings had something to do with that, but Sam wasn't sure how that was possible, much less _why_.

"I need the truth, Gabe," Sam let out on a sigh, forcing himself to catch eyes with the man across from him. "You're saying that your grace touched my soul or whatever, I understand what you're saying, but I don't get what it _means_. Spell it out, help me understand because right now...right now I'm floundering trying to understand something I know nothing about. I've gone up against Angels, demons, and so many other beings, but at the end of the day I'm still human and without the proper guide I know nothing of what's going on."

Gabriel seemed to think for a moment, his hands moving restlessly on his thighs and his eyes darting around the room as he gathered his thoughts. It had been a long time since he'd really had to teach anyone anything. The previous day's Q&A session aside, it had been a very long time since anyone had come to him for any kind of information. Once, a long time ago, young Angels had turned to him for knowledge, to learn about themselves and the world around them, but that had all ended when he'd fled Heaven. Sam wasn't exactly a baby angel, but the lack of knowledge was the same thing and Gabriel wasn't sure how he felt with that thirst for knowledge being turned towards him again in such a capacity.

Looking back at Sam, he tried to find his 'teacher's' flow again, the part of him that didn't try to teach people things through tricks and hard lessons.

"Yesterday we talked a lot about the Bonding habits of angels, including how most angels just seem to know when they've founded their intended mate." Sam wasn't sure that he liked where this was going, but he didn't move to interrupt Gabriel as the archangel continued to talk, picking up speed as he found the words that he wanted. "Angels, in their truest forms, don't have vessels. They are their grace, we are basically _naked._ It would be like humans walking around without vessels, just wisps of souls moving about earth. The very essence of us is exposed, and most of us are so large that we can't help but brush up against each other in passing. Some of the older angels, who've taken hosts before, will opt to walk around in illusions of their past hosts, just to minimize the space they take up. It's a sign of power to be able to do so.

"I'm digressing, though. Angels find their mates by instinct, being drawn to them, because our grace is fully exposed while in heaven, where most angels reside most of the time. When an Angel has a mate that is _not_ another Angel it can be...difficult...to find them. In the case of humans, your vessels – you bodies – hide your souls which, for lack of a better term, blocks the call that would bring your mate to you like an Angel's grace does."

Sam was starting to feel impatient with the answer. Gabriel was talking without explaining, it felt like to him. Either Gabriel noticed something that tipped him off to it, or his nerves were growing, because he started to talk faster.

"When an Angel's grace touches their mate's Grace – or their soul, as case may be – the way they know is they get these...these _feelings_. Contentment, home, belonging, all that romantic crap that you read in romance novels from the dime store. Of course a good mating can't be all calming and what not, so there are other things to help them...well you know... _mate_."

Sam raised a hand to end the rambling, his other hand rising to rub between his brow where he could feel the skin furrowed in his annoyance. Gabriel was telling him, in detail, about something like he'd asked, but if Sam was being honest he'd been hoping for something more direct. Something like _'I was playing a trick'_ or _'You just felt my grace, all angel's feel this way'_. Of course, things could never be that easy for a Winchester it seemed.

Parsing through Gabriel's little rambling lecture, Sam tried to organize and piece together what the archangel had been saying to try and make it relate to the topic at hand. Obviously, Gabe had felt that it was important to the issue, so it was just a matter of figuring out how it was important.

"Okay, let me get this straight." Sam tried, opening his eyes that he hadn't even realized that he'd closed. Gabriel was still sitting on the bed, waiting while trying to look more relaxed than he obviously was. "You're saying that when you kissed me, because my soul is so close to the surface in the general from having been possessed relatively recently, that your grace touched my soul and they realized...what? That we're mates? Does that mean that we have to Bond like Dean and Castiel?"

Tilting his head side to side, Gabriel seemed to roll the questions around in his head for a moment before answering. Sam had to admit that he was pleased that he was actually taking his questions seriously instead of just blurting out whatever sarcastic or off the wall answer that he could think of.

"Yes and no. Yes, my grace recognizes your soul, recognizes _you_ as my mate, but no, we do not have to create the Bond. We can forget it ever happened and I can leave now if that's what you want. I know that you and Dean do not think highly of me, I've hardly given you reason to, but I will not attempt to force something like this. I'm not some monster."

Sam nodded at that. He hadn't thought that Gabriel would try and force anything, he'd figured if they Bonded then it would be done with mutual agreement, but since there had been recognition on both of their sides he just wasn't sure if it was possible to ignore it. The thought, though, as it crossed his mind as a viable option made him feel sick to his stomach. The idea of Gabriel leaving seemed like the worst idea and he had to bite back the immediate denial. He wasn't the only one that had to be taken into consideration.

"Okay," Sam tried to keep his voice steady, exhaling slowly as he tapped his fingers against his thigh. "Okay, this doesn't just affect me. We need to come to a mutual agreement. I'm not going to be forcing you to do anything either, so I need to know what you want. I'll be up front in saying that I'm not comfortable jumping into a Bond with you. This has been the longest time I've really spent around you, we don't actually know anything about each other."

Gabriel seemed to relax at that, eyes now steady on Sam and not moving. "You perhaps know more about me than any other being in existence, including the Angels. That said, I agree on now jumping into the Bond. Like I said last night during our Q&A, most Angels don't just jump into a Bond even with each other; many take a few years to court each other and learn about each other because once the Bond is in place it's permanent."

"So what do you suggest?" Sam wasn't sure what to suggest himself, so he might as well leave it up to Gabriel to come up with ideas. It was the Angel's fault anyway, or at least that was what he was telling himself.

Shrugging, Gabriel gave Sam another wry smirk, making Sam realize that he hadn't really seen a true smile on the archangel's face before. He wondered what it would look like.

Before Sam could do anything he'd regret later, Gabriel was talking though. "Let me hang around the bunker for a bit. I can help with hunts if you really want, but you might not like my methods – just desserts and all that. We'll...date, I think is the term you humans are using now 'n days. Take our time and all that."

Giving his agreement, Sam suddenly realized that now he didn't know what to do. The conversation was obviously over. There wasn't really much more to say other than to iron out details, but he didn't really want to deal with that right now. His stomach still hurt from the idea of Gabriel leaving and now that they'd come to an agreement that he'd be staying in the bunker he just wanted to leave it at that for the moment. That did leave him, though, without anything further to say.

Neither of them moved for a long while. Gabriel continued to stare at him, his face unreadable behind the wry smile, and Sam just sat at the desk staring at anything but him. After a time, though, Gabriel stood and swiftly moved to stand in front of Sam.

Unsure as to what was going to happen, Sam looked up at Gabriel with a furrowed brow and waited to see what the archangel had in mind. He wasn't left waiting long when Gabriel lifted a hand to run the back of his fingers against Sam's cheek. Sam knew that there wasn't smooth skin beneath those fingers, since he hadn't bothered to shave the stubble from his face that morning, but Gabriel didn't seem to mind and repeated the action one more time. Then the brown haired angel was dipping his head down slightly, the fact that Sam was sitting putting him taller than the hunter for once, and dry lips brushed against Sam's for a second time that day.

The same feelings from the first time bloomed through Sam. Tension that had built up during the day suddenly fled, a sense of contentment taking it's place as the hunter leaned forward slightly to meet those dry thin lips again with his. This time it was a little longer, the press a little harder. Then another kiss, a slow slide of lips together followed by soft sighs.

Maybe Sam wasn't ready to form a Bond with Gabriel at this point, but he had a feeling that given time there was a very, very good chance that he could come to want that Bond in the future all too easily. For now, though, Gabriel would stay at the bunker with him, Dean, and Cas. They'd get to know each other, and Sam had a feeling that Gabriel wouldn't mind that Sam occasionally just wanted affectionate touches in the meantime. It would take some time, but they'd figure it out, together and perhaps that was all that mattered in the end.

Of course, they'd have to figure out how to break the news to Dean. Sam had a feeling that Castiel wouldn't mind Gabriel's presence.

Those thoughts were driven from Sam's mind when Gabriel pressed their foreheads together, their nose rubbing slightly. Opening his eyes, Sam wasn't surprised to be met with Gabriel's dancing eyes, though as his eyes darted over his face he was pleased to note that there was a smile, a real smile, was tugging the corners of the archangel's mouth up. Another bump of their noses brought Sam's attention back to Gabriel, who was obviously wanting to say something.

"I'm going to have to insist that you get a new mattress, though. The pink princess sheets are a nice touch!"

Jerking, Sam looked around Gabriel towards his bed, where sure enough, his plain tan sheets had been turned into a tuffed pink monstrosity with tiaras and what looked like was suppose to be glitter. When he moved to look back at the laughing archangel, he only saw the backside of him as Gabriel darted out of the room in uproarious laughter.

With a soft shout, Sam hurtled from his chair and down the hall after Gabriel, yelling for him to change his sheets back to normal. Despite the flashing irritation at the childish prank, Sam couldn't help but also feel happy, though he wouldn't admit it if asked. This was going to be his life now, if things worked out, and he was looking forward to it.


End file.
